Abstract
We have developed an instrumental system of wheelchair to analyze human movements while driving wheelchair. So as to measure the driving force and wheel movement, a rotary encoder and a six degree-of-freedom force/moment sensor are equipped at the axle of main wheel. We bind another two position/orientation sensors on upper arm and forearm of the subject. The measurement values for a subject are converted as time series to the joint angles of upper limb, which are used to evaluate the wheelchair propulsion with the driving forces. By using the developed instrumental system, we can obtain the necessary information of three dimensional position/orientation and force/moment which describe the wheelchair propulsion perfectly in the mechanical terms.
